Syed Modi badminton | Tanvi shocks Nozomi, Manraj downs Prannoy on day of upsets
Youngsters Tanvi and Manraj capitalised on their respective opponent’s errors to enter quarterfinals.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
On a day of upsets, Tanvi Sharma caused the biggest of them all, packing off former World champion Nozomi Okuhara in three games in the second round of the Syed Modi India International 2025 here on Thursday.
On the men’s side, H.S. Prannoy’s struggles continued as the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist was upset by youngster Manraj Singh in straight games, making his exit in the second round yet again. Prannoy, the highest ranked Indian in the fray, has failed to go past Round Two this season in 16 outings now.
The 16-year old Tanvi, runner-up at the recent Junior Worlds, was in her elements and capitalised on a tentative Nozomi’s series of errors to storm into the quarterfinals of her second Super 300 event this year. She had finished second at the US Open in June. Despite winning the first game 21-13 Nozomi, who had struggled in her opening match as well, failed to keep the momentum even as Tanvi grew in confidence with a mix of attack and defence.
Relying on cross-court shots to keep Nozomi the Japanese unsettled, the Indian kept drawing her opponent to the net and used sharp angles to snap up points and seal the match in three games one minute under an hour. It was not the only upset of the day, though, with Isharani Baruah defeating higher-ranked Ukrainian Polina Buhrova in straight games.
Among men, fourth seed Kiran George lost to Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong 21-19, 21-16, Mithun Manjunath overcame Tarun Mannepalli in 73 minutes and the second seed pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek went down to Faiq Mohd. and Hong Quan Lok of Malaysia. K. Srikanth and Unnati Hooda, meanwhile, advanced into the last eight with easy half-hour wins against compatriots Saneeth Dayanand and Tasnim Mir respectively.
Top results (Indian unless stated): Men: Singles: Jia Heng Jason Teh (Sgp) bt Alap Mishra 21-15, 21-15; Jason Gunawan (Hkg) bt Kiran George 21-19, 21-16; Manraj Singh bt HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-18; K. Srikanth bt Saneeth Dayanand 21-6, 21-16.
Women: Singles: Isharani Baruah bt Polina Buhrova (Ukr) 21-15, 21-8; Unnati Hooda bt Tasnim Mir 21-15, 21-10; Tanvi Sharma bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 13-21, 21-16, 21-19; Suo Yun Shung (Tpe) bt Sakura Masuki (Jpn) 21-19, 21-15.
Published – November 27, 2025 11:15 pm IST
